Wealthfront Advisers LLC Acquires Shares of 72,433 MetLife, Inc. $MET

Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 72,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,129,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in MetLife by 205.8% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $93.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.33 and a 1-year high of $100.93. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $92.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.08.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. The company had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, August 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on MET shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.64.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.